Trust is Uncertian
by Simple Heart
Summary: Riley's sitting on Ben's steps. Once again his life is messed up, and he turns to the only person he truly trusts. Will they understand or turn their back? -Once again Contains Slash. You don't like it, don't read it-


Okay so I was talking with my Beta about National Treasure and she got me all fired up to write another NT story. I managed to write it in one day, though it took like three hours. All I had to do was change some grammar mistakes and add a word here or there. I can say I'm very satisfied with this, which might mean it's not as good as I think it is... but that's just my pessimistic side showing. -Grabs baseball bat to beat it into submission- anyway! I hope you guys enjoy this; it's actually one of the few that I've written that I want to go back and re-read for fun.  
This one's a little more angsty, than the last one. There's still some humor in it, but it's not all over the place like the last one. I was in the mood to torture poor Riley, so if it causes any tears, which it probably won't, you've been warned.

Trust is a fickle thing. It's so easily earned, yet once gone it's nearly impossible to replace. The scars left behind can mar your once perfect world and let the rain clouds roll in.

The lights were off, not because he was depressed and wanted it that way, just because he was too lazy to go turn them on. The hard, cold surface of the stairway was slowly turning his butt numb, but he didn't notice. Ornate carvings, finely crafted furniture and ornamental paintings stood around him. It felt like he was on display at the circus, a freak show. He had no privacy from their non-existent prying eyes.

Dull blue eyes stared off into the shadowed foray, thin moonlight casting weak shadows through the window. It was quiet; he couldn't even hear a cricket, and there was nothing to distract him from those events. Events he'd been stupid enough to get himself into, and he was supposed to be a genius.

He'd known for awhile; he just refused to believe it, content to stay in ignorance, but knowing what was to come. The late nights, the "missed" calls, and finally catching them in the act, not necessarily something that he wanted to see, confirmed everything. His little perfect forged world cracked and fell apart, exposing him to the chill of the real world. Instead of feelings of anger or hate, relief had taken a weight off his shoulders, a sign to how bad it'd gotten. Alex showed no remorse; in fact, he'd gone as far as to blame what had happened on Riley. How that made sense, he had no clue, but he was sure of one thing. It was over; heck, it had never really began. It was just some fling that they had both agreed to. For Riley, as a means to forget someone; for Alex, he had no clue and didn't care.

He'd been expecting this to happen, but it still stung. He'd been stupid enough to trust the guy. He should have known; trust was earned, but the one person he wanted, who'd gained his trust a thousand times over, was the one he couldn't have, a figment that always floated just beyond his reach.

He'd followed Ben through thick and thin, knowing no matter what he could trust the older man to get them out alive. He owed the man so much since he'd been rescued from that little windowless cubicle. Acquaintance had evolved into admiration, admiration evolved into friendship, and friendship had evolved into something more. So he'd found someone he could drown his sorrows in. He knew it couldn't end well, but he yearned for someone to touch him, to hold him, do everything he wished Ben would.

But look where that had gotten him; sitting on a flight of stairs in the dark waiting for the owner of the house to get home because he didn't know what else to do. The silence loomed around him, smothering polished floors and ancient rooms. He heard the whir of a car pulling into the driveway, and the crunch of concrete under the tires; he heard the click of an opened door and the slam of a closed one; he heard the jingling of keys in a large hand and the footsteps walking up to the door, but he didn't look up. The front door creaked as it swung opened, but he still didn't look up.

Footsteps, then the lights flicked on, and his world was flooded in light; but he _still_ didn't look up.

"Riley?"

Then and only then did he lift his head. Ben looked surprised to see him sitting on the stairs.

"Your front door was unlocked…again" he offered in explanation, shrugging.

Ben nodded, confusion still creasing his brow.

"What are you doing here?" he was asked.

Not exactly a friendly welcome, but it didn't hurt; he'd been half expecting this to.

"I have no clue" he honestly replied, shifting his gaze past his friend.

"Riley, what's wrong?"

Uh oh, now he sounded worried.

"What isn't?" Riley couldn't help but laugh somewhat bitterly.

"What happened? Riley?"

Ah, now even more worried.

Why'd he come here anyway? All it was going to do was cause problems. He stood abruptly.

"Sorry, I barged in. I just needed some time to think, and what better place to do that than your best friend's mansion, right?" He joked, thumping down the remaining stairs and giving Ben a smile he knew the other could see was fake.

"Riley" It was so soft, teasing him.

"Don't worry about it, Ben, I didn't take anything." He continued the flawed façade, "I'll see you later."

He turned towards the door, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Riley, what's wrong?" It sounded like... like he was actually concerned.

He turned to face the older man.

"What makes you think anything's wrong?" He replied, forcing his usual smile.

He received a stern, knowing look for all his trouble.

"It's nothing you need to worry about" he said.

"Is it that guy you've been dating?"

What? Where had that come from? He narrowed his eyes.

"How do you know about that?"

"Riley, you're friends with two people who solve clues for a living."

Way to go, why don't you remind us all that Riley Poole is just the tech support, and you're dating someone other than him, and that he likes to refer to himself in the third person?

"It wasn't that hard." Of course nothing's difficult for him.

"We…We were never really dating." Riley let his eyes drift to the floor.

"Then what…?"

"We both needed to forget something and it was convenient" he admitted.

"There's no way something like that will ever work. Why'd you do it?" There was the million dollar question.

He winced, "I know. It's just… when it was over, I felt relieved, but I was back to square one. I didn't have a distraction and…the trust thing…"

He was rambling and he knew it made no sense, but everything had been wound so tight that anytime he let it escape, the words sliced into each other as they fought to get out. He lifted his eyes up to Ben's. He looked so much like his usual self; he had that look he got when he was trying to solve a puzzle, the one Riley adored. The words died down, forming a solid mass of desperation and courage in the pit of his stomach. Those lips were pouted and so kissable… He couldn't fight it as he leaned forward…

The kiss was short and chaste, mixed with want and regret. He pulled back, watching the shock register on his friend's, or rather ex-friend's, face. He didn't bother to stick around for the disgust that was sure to come. He turned once more to leave, feeling the chains of misery wrap and lock around his heart, dragging it into the depths, never to be seen again.

Fingers wrapped around his arm, and he was stopped and pulled around. Icy floes met the Pacific Ocean as Ben's eyes bored into his.

"Riley…" Here it came, "What was that?"

He tried to muster up his old failsafe, humor.

"Our last goodbye?"

"Riley" the grip on his arm tightened.

"The reason I was here in the first place. What started it all," he admitted reluctantly.

Oh looky, the surprise was back.

"What?"

He loved his friend, but he could be so dense sometimes!

"I'm in love with you Ben! And I can never _be_ with you!" He exclaimed, startling the other.

"It's the reason I was with Alex. I didn't want to ruin our friendship, so I tried to cover up my feelings and we saw how that worked out" he bitterly snorted.

"You purposefully hurt yourself to protect our friendship because…"

Riley didn't want to hear it.

"Yeah, so if you will let go of me, I need to go" he said, with an edge of weariness in his voice.

He jerked his arm free from Ben's shock-weakened grip and made his way towards the door, refusing to look at who had once been his world.

And his regular world whirled and spun as something jerked him around. His back and head harshly connected with the wall next to the door and the next thing he knew, Ben's lips were covering his in a desperate, needy and somewhat sloppy kiss. He couldn't help but moan into the others mouth; he'd been craving this for so long and he couldn't stifle it. His hands threaded through the treasure protector's hair of their own accord as he felt the other's hands ghost over his sides before coming to rest on his hips.

They were both breathing hard by the time Ben pulled away. It was Riley's turn to look surprised. Where the heck had _that_ come from?

"What… You… But… Abigail…" His oxygen-starved brain refused to come up with a coherent sentence.

"She broke up with me, recognized it even before I knew. She let me go and said I'd owe her the Boston tea tables" Ben gasp-chuckled in his ear.

"Wha…?" That made no sense.

Ben pulled away, placing both of his large and comfortingly warm hands on either side of his face.

"I didn't know how to get it out either. Though Abigail threatened to kick my butt if I didn't tell you, I still couldn't figure out how to say it."

"But what…?" He still wasn't making any sense.

"I'm in love with you, Mr. Poole."

The words had barely time to sink in before his lips were claimed again. What did this all mean did Ben really…? So then…? Finally…?

He abandoned all thinking; it was useless anyway. When Ben finally let him up for air, he slowly opened his eyes to stare into those warm waters.

"So Abigail?" he asked.

Ben nodded.

"She's moving in with Connor, said she'd noticed it for awhile. Said it was a woman's intuition. I had no clue what she was talking about," Ben explained.

"You can be so thick sometimes" Riley shook his head.

"What about you? And that guy?" Ben asked.

Was that a hint of jealousy? Come to think of it he'd seen that look when he'd told Ben about Alex earlier. Why hadn't he noticed it?

"Why, are you jealous?" he teased, getting a glare in response.

"I told you it was a fling. To distract me from you. So don't worry, it's over anyway. I caught him cheating on me this morning." Riley finished. A stab of dejection reared its ugly head.

Ben's eyes narrowed, a flare of anger flitting through them.

"I can't say I'm sorry to hear that" he growled, glaring a hole in the wall next to Riley's head.

"Don't worry, neither am I; after all I have the real thing now, right?" The self-proclaimed 'master of all things digital' said, a smile growing on his face.

"Yes? Was that supposed to make sense?" Ben asked.

"You know what I meant" Riley replied, stepping forward and resting his head comfortably on the slightly taller man's shoulder.

He sighed in contentment when Ben wrapped his arms around him. Silence enveloped them, but this time it was light, effortless, a pleasant visitor. The light that seeped into his half-open eyes was warm and reassuring. The shadows had long since retreated back into their corners.

"So, how long are we going to stand like this?" Ben wondered after several moments.

"I don't know. You got anything to eat?" Riley replied as they both stepped apart.

"Maybe", Ben said, thinking, "I may have some frozen pizzas, but I don't know how long they've been in the freezer…"

"Lovely," Riley remarked, "So it's a date then?"

"After you," Ben motioned.

They easily fell into their usual banter, though if you were paying attention. You'd notice they were walking a lot closer than normal and in the last few seconds before they disappeared into the kitchen, Ben grabbed Riley's hand and twined their fingers together.

I never did see Abigail and Connor getting together, he just seems to stupid for her, but he was convenient so I put him in. Yeah this is definitely more angsty than the last one, but I still gave it a fluffy ending, so all is good.

Don't forget to R&R!!!! Tell me what you think!

Simple Heart


End file.
